Spectral: Where the darkness lurks
by MerryZanne
Summary: We've all been told our whole lives that there are no such things as monsters, that they were only stories. But… What if they weren't? What if, what they told us were the stories, only to hide the truth? Stories to keep us from seeing reality, to keep us from searching for that which is true. (Full Summary in Chapter One) (A Bubbles fanfic)
1. Chapter 1

_**Spectral:**_

 **Where the darkness lurks**

Summary:

We've all been told our whole lives that there are no such things as monsters, that they were only stories. But… What if they weren't? What if, what they told us were the stories, only to hide the truth? Stories to keep us from seeing reality, to keep us from searching for that which is true.

Bubbles Utonium, an average teenage girl with average friends, average grades and an average life. She never thought she was anything special. She never thought that maybe someday, somewhere she would be important, but that never bothered her. She liked being average, it was what made her who she was.

But her world soon turns upside down when she decides to go on a famous hiking trip through Greenrow Forrest, one of the most popular and mysterious forests in the world. And soon she finds out everything she thought she knew was a lie.

EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW WAS A LIE….

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Chapter One:

 **Before I start I want to give a quick disclaimer as well as a warning.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls, their story or any of the characters. I only own my own story and my OC's.**

 **Warning! If you get easily upset by gore, swearing or sexual topics, do not read! This story is rated the way it is, for a reason. I don't plan on making sex scenes or anything but the story will have some content that may be seen as disturbing by some. There will also be a lot of clichés and bad jokes. So be warned!**

 **If you are still here and willing to give this story a chance, I thank you from the very bottom of my smol heart. Now let's have fun on this journey of horror, romance, OTP's and horrible dad jokes! Enjoy!**

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Bubbles' POV:

Yes! I finally got in! Sure it cost a lot of money and I had to wait like 14 months, but it was sooo worth it! I'm finally going on the hiking trip through Greenrow Forest! I sighed with happiness as I re-read the e-mail I got from Greenrow Hikes, the place that made news headlines for their amazing hikes through Greenrow.

I've always loved nature but I fell in love with Greenrow Forest as soon as I read about it online. It was a beautiful forest that stretched over 200 million acres of trees and mountains. Don't even get me started on the fauna and flora! Legend goes, that Greenrow's plants never die, not in the coldest of winters or the worst of storms.

This is of course, how it got its name. No one's ever explored the whole forest, but I made a promise to myself that I'll try, someday … I smiled to myself as I jumped a little and started doing my happy dance. Thankfully it was summer and I had no school or homework to worry about. I immediately started packing my bags; comfortable clothes, sun screen, some hiking gear, my sleeping bag and of course my bathroom necessities.

The best thing about this hiking trip was that it takes at least 3 days to complete, so I even get to camp! My parents are angels sent from heaven for actually letting me go! Greenrow Hikes had an extremely long waiting list which is why I had to wait 14 months and 2 weeks, days counted down to a tick. But according to the interviews some hikers did for an outdoor magazine, it was totally worth it. After packing I gave my room a once over to make sure I didn't forget anything.

A slight frown appeared on my face. The hike started tomorrow and it was now only 2pm. I groaned as I fell onto my bed. I've waited 14 months what is eighteen hours more, right? Another groan escaped my lips as I unlocked my phone to see if I had any messages. Nope, nadda… I'm probably the very definition of forever alone. What the hell am I supposed to do for eighteen hours?!

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 **~~The Next Morning~~**

So after a lot of groans and self-pitying I decided to go to a coffee shop and then straight to sleep when I arrived home. Now it was finally time for the taxi to arrive to take me on my adventure! **(A/N: "I'm going on an adventure!" The Hobbit anyone? No? ok.. I'll leave…)** I was wearing a light blue tank top with some khaki shorts and my brown lace up hiking boots, my golden locks pulled into a quick high ponytail. I heard the taxi's horn and I quickly grabbed my khaki button up shirt, that I'll use as a jacket when it gets cooler, and my bags before swiftly making my way out of our apartment.

We've been driving for what feels like hours but was only a few minutes. I lived in a city pretty close to Greenrow which was a major plus. I wouldn't make it if I had to wait any longer than I already have. I lightly bopped my head to the music coming from my earphones as I looked out the window. There were trees and even a few deer scattered not far from the road.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air blowing from the car window before quietly singing the words of the song I was listening to. "Place a kiss on my cheekbone. Then you vanish me. I'm buried in the snow. But something tells me I'm not alone" suddenly I felt a shiver go down my spine, it felt like someone or something was watching me.

I shook my head at the silly thought as I realized we were pulling up to Greenrow Hikes' cabin. An instant smile appeared on my face, this is it! I climbed out of the taxi and grabbed my backpack before joining the rest of the people huddling close to one of the guides working at Greenrow Hikes. I stood on my tippy toes trying to see over the people standing in front of me. Either I'm shorter than I thought or these people were extremely tall.

Everyone started to quiet down as the guide made a motion with his hand. "Welcome everyone to Greenrow Hikes! I'm Gregory Pine and I'll be your guide for the next three to four days" the man said smiling. "Now, before we start our trip may I remind you that there's no signal up here, so we will be giving each of you a walkie talkie in the event of someone accidentally getting separated."

"Also, I have a few extra rations of food if needed. Now for the rules. Rule 1: No exploring on your own, these woods are big and you could easily get lost. Rule 2: Please try and keep the pace I set for the group, if you feel tired please tell me and we will take a short break. Rule 3: Stay close together, there ARE dangerous animals out there. Do not fear though they usually stay far away from the hikers. Rule 4: Please enjoy!"

Gregory said giving us another large smile and everyone erupted with cheers, me included. Some people said goodbye to their friends and family who came to see them off. I just stood there awkwardly out of place before jumping slightly as a hand fell on my shoulder. "It's great seeing young people like you also having an interest in nature" I turned to find Gregory smiling down at me. Man I really am short…

"It's been a long awaited dream of mine to take part in this" I said giving him a smile back. I studied his face for a while, he had messy ginger hair and a few freckles scattered across his face. He had blue almost grayish eyes and a few scars. Probably because he IS a hiking guide… "Well, you won't regret it one bit! Oh, and also-" he was cut off from his cheerful rant when his phone rang.

Hmm, I thought there was no signal up here? Maybe he meant in the woods? He gave me an apologetic smile before walking off to answer whoever was calling him. I was lost in thought and didn't realize I was still staring at him. He suddenly let out a loud "WHAT?" while looking confused at the phone before reconnecting it with his right ear. Deciding it was none of my business I turned and walked over to the group again.

"Sorry for the wait everybody! Without further adieu, let's get going!" he said smiling while marching down the path. Excitement filled my body as we finally started entering the forest, it was absolutely gorgeous! We've been walking for a while now and I just couldn't stop smiling. It was everything I dreamed about. There were a few bushes rustling here and there, that scared some people but I couldn't care less.

"Alright! It will be dark soon so I think we should make camp here" Gregory said, a smile still plastered on his face. Everyone let out a sigh of relief before collapsing onto the ground, I just shook my head and smiled. I wasn't nearly as tired as them. "Hey, maybe I can help gather some wood for the fire or something? It seems like none of them have the energy to help, so I might as well" I said after making my way to where Gregory was standing.

He smiled while wiping the sweat of his forehead making me see a scar I didn't notice before. "That would be a BIG help, thanks uhh" he said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, Bubbles Utonium at your service" I said doing a stupid little bow. What is wrong with me?! "Thank you Bubbles" he said before giving me a slight wink, I just nodded and wandered off to find some dry wood for the fire.

"Stay in the designated area! I don't want you to get lost or hurt!" I heard Gregory yell from a distance making me chuckle, what a weird guy… I have gathered a few good pieces of wood before hearing a distant growl. Ignoring it I looked up- orange, yellow and purplish pink colors filling the sky. I decided to go back since it was getting darker. I was closing in on our camp site before scrunching my nose.

Oh my… What is that smell? I took another sniff, BIG mistake. I almost gagged at the foul stench. I never liked metallic smells. I took in a deep breath through my mouth and tried to hold it as I made my way back to the camp site. I was nearly there when I heard a bloodcurdling scream, making my heart stop. Shivers were making their way up and down my body as I slowly walked closer.

As I got closer I saw a thick red liquid covering the path, it was disgusting and even had a few chunks, of I don't know what, in there. That's when it hit me. The scream. The metallic smell. The red liquid. My eyes widened as I quickly but quietly snuck up to the camp site. What I saw was bone chilling. Pieces of human scattered across the ground, blood dripping from the sides of the tents and trees.

I could hear the cries and whimpers of everyone and I could see Gregory with wide eyes looking at the horror in front of him. He shook his head and ran. If I wasn't frozen in fear from what was standing in front of me I would've ran away too. It was standing in a pool of blood breathing heavily and towering over the woman it had in its grasp. She was screaming and crying for it to let her and her unborn child go, but it was no use.

In one swift move it tore her in half before throwing her to the side. My eyes were wider than they've ever been, my hand covering my mouth as I tried to hold back the lunch I had that afternoon. It was much bigger than a human. Its legs looked like a dog's hind legs, its fingers had long claws. Its body had patches of what looked like fur on its legs, arms, neck, chest, back and ears.

The rest was bare, the wrinkly skin a pinkish brown. It had pointy ears and a big snout that bared large sharp teeth. It was breathing extremely heavily, its shoulders moving up and down as it inhaled and exhaled. It started sniffing the air and slowly turned to my direction. I muffled a whimper with my hand, I doubt this bush is giving much coverage… Everyone from the group was dead except me and Gregory.

I just sat there crouched, being as quiet as I can, even holding my breath. It made a low growling noise as it fell on its hands, slowly creeping its way towards me like a wolf hunting its prey. Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I still covered my mouth hoping that it wouldn't hear or see me. I closed my eyes and prayed that it would turn and leave. It was silent for a few minutes and I started feeling slight relief.

But it only lasted a second before I was grabbed from my hiding place and held in the air. My feet were kicking and I was hitting its arm but to no avail. It looked at me with dog like yellow eyes and bared its teeth as it growled again. "No! Please! Someone help me!" I screamed and struggled against its grip. This is it, this is how I die. Getting mauled by a thing that looks like a freaking cheap Halloween costume…

I shut my eyes tight and waited for it to rip me apart but instead I fell onto the ground as it howled in pain. Shocked I looked up and saw an arrow in its back, still frozen with fear I watched as two figures ran towards it. "Butch take care of it!" one screamed before pulling me away. "Hey Fido, over here!" another voice yelled, it turned towards the voice and growled again. "Play dead" the voice said before cutting of its head with one swift motion.

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FRICK!?

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 **Thus marks the end of chapter 1! What did you think? Please review and leave your thoughts and suggestions on the story. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my attempt at a good story! I really hope you guys liked it.**

 **I know, I know the lack of dad jokes and puns is really sad, but do not fret my pretties for I WILL deliver in the next chapter! I also promise the next chapter will focus more on our beautiful boys! See you guys in chapter 2, byeeeee~**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

 **Thank you so much to my two followers as well for the reviews! It means a lot to me that you took the time to actually leave a review and follow my story. You guys are amazing! Chapter 2 of 'Spectral: Where the darkness lurks' is finally here!**

 **I promise I'll try to post Chapter 3 a bit faster! Thank you again for the reviews.**

 **TooneyDeadlyFireDragon**

 **MusicAngelTwins**

 **Please enjoy!~**

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Bubbles' POV:

"Play dead? Seriously?"

"What? You too good for a good joke?"

"That was just poor taste…"

"Yeah, besides you never laugh at MY jokes!"

"That's cause' your jokes are stupid."

They're crazy…

They're insane…

"Oi! You listening blondie?" I was pulled from my shocked state by a loud voice and a hand waving in front of my face. "Huh?" was all I could answer, as I looked at the three guys in front of me with wide eyes. "Great we broke her…" the one with black hair said whilst throwing his arms in the air.

"After what she just witnessed, it's understandable" the one with red hair said stoic faced. "Don't worry, you're safe now!" the blonde said with a big smile before putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him like he was crazy. "Safe? SAFE?!" I screamed jumping up from where I was sitting.

"Did you see that thing!?" I screamed even louder pointing at the thing lying on the ground. "Alright calm down blondie" the one with black hair said grabbing my arm. Instantly I ripped my arm from his grasp, "Calm? CALM?! Are you crazy!?" "What am I saying? Of course you are…" I mumbled with my head in my hands. "That's some way of talking to the people that just saved your life" the same guy said with a sarcastic chuckle.

I looked at him with my mouth agape before seeing the red haired guy making his way towards me with that same stoic face. Furrowing my eyebrows I slowly backed away from the red haired figure approaching me. But of course, me being me, tripped and fell on my butt. He looked at me with bored eyes before closing them and sighing.

"Look, you can freak out as much as you want later. But right now we need to move. They hunt in packs which means more of them aren't far" he said. Before I could respond the blonde pulled the arrow out of the thing's back, like it was nothing might I add, and they started walking away.

I sighed in relief before taking a few deep breaths. They're leaving me alone. I took another deep breath before my eyes fell on the thing lying on the ground. Wait… THEY'RE LEAVING ME ALONE?! I quickly jumped up, grabbed my bag and ran after them. After a few minutes I finally caught up. They each stopped and looked at me, I gave them a sickingly sweet smile before unleashing my fury.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE A DEFFENSELESS GIRL ALONE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? I SWEAR I'M GOING TO FREAKING-" I was cut off by a hand covering my mouth. Wide eyed I looked at the black haired guy. "Do you want to fucking kill us all?!" he whisper screamed at me. Again I looked at him like he was crazy.

He gave an irritated sigh, "Look blondie. Those things can hear as far as six miles and if they find us they're going to tear into us like we're presents and it's fucking Christmas morning!" he whisper screamed again. "Now either you shut your mouth or we leave you to the dogs." Realizing I had no choice I slowly nodded my head.

He gave another sigh before removing his hand, giving me a nod. I wiped my mouth and glared at him, "Just so you know. If you ever do that again, I will kick you in the groin" I whispered back. His eyes suddenly lit up as he gave me a playful smirk before joining the other two. Ugh, jerk!

I warily joined them as we continued walking, each of them keeping a watchful eye. We were surrounded by nothing but trees, which made it hard for me to really see anything. Sighing in defeat I knew I had no other choice than to trust them. Maybe if I look closely I could learn a little more about who they are. I decided to silently study them whilst we walk to who knows where.

The one walking on my left side had messy short blonde hair, not cut in any particular style and ocean blue eyes. He was two inches taller than me and well built. I also realized that he was the only one that kept sending me reassuring smiles, which to be honest helped me feel a bit more at ease. He was wearing a navy t-shirt, black cargo pants and black combat boots. He was also carrying a bow and arrows on his back. Okay… Not weird at all…

The one walking on my right side had jet black hair styled in a quiff and forest green eyes. He was the tallest of the three, probably a good four inches taller than me. Like I said, I'm pretty short. He was a bit more built than the blonde but not super buff and had a nicely tanned skin. He was wearing some dark jeans, a dark green V-neck shirt with a black bomber jacket and faded dark green converse. He was carrying what looked like a machete and a small knife tucked in his pants. Getting weirder…

The one walking slightly in front of me had longish red hair peeking out from under a backwards red baseball cap and red eyes. What the hell?! Red eyes? I silently started freaking out but continued to study him. He was taller than the blonde but still shorter than the one with black hair. He was less built than the other two but still pretty toned. He was wearing a black t-shirt with faded blue jeans and light brown lace up boots. He didn't seem to be carrying a weapon which was kind of strange considering the other two. Maybe he's the more normal one, despite his eyes I mean…

"We're here" the one with red hair said. I looked at them confused because we were still in the middle of nowhere. There were still nothing but trees and more trees surrounding us. "U-uhm, sorry but where exactly is here?" I asked still being cautious around them. The one with black hair just gave me a smirk and wink before giving me a push. I lost my balance and fell, but when I looked up there was suddenly a small wood cabin in front of me.

"Magical barrier blondie. Can't have the creepers finding our cabin, now can we?" the black haired guy said before walking past me. I'll say this again. Ugh, jerk! I slowly entered the cabin after them and what I saw stunned me. The room that should've been the living room had only one table and a couple of chairs. But what shocked me was the walls surrounding the room. They were full of shelves and shelves of knives, machetes, guns and a bunch of vials filled with different liquids.

"Who ARE you guys?" I asked in shock. "Right, we should probably introduce ourselves" the blonde said with a big smile. "I'm Boomer Smith" the blonde said whilst holding out his hand for me to shake. I hesitantly shook it and gave him a small smile. "That dick over there is Butch Miller" he said pointing to the black haired guy, who only sent him a middle finger in return.

"And the big grouch over there is Brick Johnson" he said pointing to the red head who was busy looking at a map on the table. I gave him a small nod to show my appreciation for the introduction. "And you are?" Boomer asked expectantly. "Oh right, I'm Bubbles Utonium" I said giving him another small smile.

"Bubbles? What the hell kind of name is that?" Butch snorted making me puff up my cheeks in anger. "A better name than Butch thank you very much!" I exclaimed folding my arms over my chest. He just laughed and held up his hands in surrender, making me victorious. I was pulled back to reality by a loud grunt.

"What the hell are ferals doing this far out?" Brick shouted before slamming his fist on the table making me jump. "Well shit Brick I thought you were gonna tell us" Butch said sarcastically whilst leaning on the doorframe. Brick gave him a glare before taking off his baseball cap and running his fingers through his hair. "Uhm, ferals?" I asked confused making Boomer give me another smile before resting his hand on my shoulder. Something he seems to do a lot in attempt to make me feel at ease.

"Maybe you should get cleaned up first and then we'll explain everything" he said with his signature smile. "Yeah, you ARE kinda splattered with feral blood" Butch said scrunching up his nose. I looked at him confused before touching my face and sure enough I was covered in blood. I instantly started gagging and covering my mouth with my hand.

"It's ok, our bathroom is upstairs. Take your time" Boomer said with sympathetic eyes. I nodded and quickly ran upstairs but not before I heard someone saying, "We need to get rid of her…"

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 **Boomer's POV:**

"Don't say that Brick! She's scared and alone. She doesn't even know what's going on..." I said with a sigh as I looked at my best friend. "She's a liability Boomer" he said giving me his oh so famous 'know it all' look. "Brick if we leave her out there alone, she'll die!" I exclaimed trying to get my point across. "That doesn't concern us" he said looking at that stupid map again. "Doesn't concern us? You can't be serious!?"

Brick ignored me and continued to study the patterns on the map. "Brick we can't let her die! She's an innocent girl!" I said trying to reason with my brick headed friend. **(AN: Ehhh, see what I did there? (** **) )** "Plus she's fucking hot" Butch added thinking his contribution was needed… "Exactly Boomer! She's going to slow us down!" Brick exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.

"Oh for gods' sake Brick. Give the girl a chance!" **(AN: Yes gods, plural. *hint hint*)** "Do you really want to be the cause of her death?" I asked one more time hoping to get through to him. He glared at me, his red eyes basically piercing my soul. I'll never get used to those eyes… "Fine! But I'm not playing babysitter. If she gets hurt or worse, that'll be on you" he said before refolding the map.

I sighed in relief and gave him a big smile, "You won't regret this." I turned making my way to the stairs before I was stopped by his voice once again. "Boomer you need to start thinking straight, you're not a cop anymore…"

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 **The end of chapter two has commeth! I hope y'all enjoyed it, especially with the few hints I gave about Brick and Boomer. Especially Brick, there's a pretty sneaky little/BIG hint in there.**

 **But real talk though, why is Butch like my favorite character at the moment? Sigh… Welp, thank you all sooo much for reading chapter two of 'Spectral: Where the darkness lurks'. Please leave me your suggestions and tips, also tell me what you think of the story so far. If you guys would like a bit more of the boys' POV and backstory, let me know. As always it has been a pleasure writing for you, byeeeeee~**


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